ACKNWLDGNT:



“test every spirit”

First John 4:1 – 6

8 May 2019

Relevant Question: “How to test the spirit?”

1) Try the Spirit around us (v1)

2) Greater is the Spirit within us (v4)

3) Godly Spirits sustain us (v6)

1) According to the sermon, what are the three responses to the two forces and the one power?

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← Sermon > They are 1) the Neutral or Natural, 2) the Spiritual, and 3) the Anti-Christian response to the two forces of good (righteousness) and of evil, and to the one power of Almighty God.

← Sermon > The neutral or natural life is lost, unsaved, and unregenerated (born in sin and shapen in iniquity). This is the “default” response to life. It is a choice to live worldly and to ignore the existence of an Almighty God. They are disconnected from the life and love of Jehovah God. They deny the gift of Jesus Christ and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. They are destined for eternal judgment and the Lake of Fire.

← Sermon > The spiritual life is saved, sealed, and sanctified (born again of the water and of the Spirit). This is the “free-will” response to life. It is a choice to live by the spirit and to place saving faith in the Living God. Our relationship connects us with God through Jesus Christ. Our discipleship bonds us to Christ through truth and authenticity. Our stewardship unites us with the church through faithful loving and laboring for the Lord.

← Sermon > The anti-Christian life is unsaved, unchurched, and unrepentant (professing a head-knowledge of God without possessing a heart-connection with Christ). This is the “evil” response to life, a life of perdition. It is a choice to deny God and to reject Christ. The anti-Christian mind denies the deity of Jesus Christ and makes Him a mere man or an inspired teacher. They are living by a fleshly desire or appetite in the absence of true spirituality. They are living with an inordinate focus on sexual pleasure. They are living amidst a form of godliness or religious, but they are denying the power of God. Anti-Christian people are dangerous people. They are lovers of pleasures more than they are lovers of God. They lead others astray with various lusts and with lies and deceit. They are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2) What is the proof of our Christianity?

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← Sermon > The proof of our Christianity is our love for the brethren as evidence of our fellowship with God, a matter of light over darkness. Love is the true mark of true Christianity because love is the central reality of God’s nature. God is love.

← 1John 2:23 > “Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

← Sermon > Moreover, the proof of our Christianity is further revealed in our love for one another as evidence of our sonship with the God, a matter of life over death. God expresses His love in the gift of Jesus and we accept that gift by favorably responding to Jesus, the personification of God’s love.

← 1John 3:11 > “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

3) Which of the following statements is true?

a) The love of Jesus is advocating for us here on earth.

b) The prime directive for believers and non-believers is to love one another.

c) We abide in God and God abides in us.

d) All the statements are true.

e) None of the statements is true.

← Sermon > c = True, we abide in God and God abides in us. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we have God living and abiding in us and we are abiding in God. The word “abide” means to remain in fellowship or in “koinonia” with Christ.

← v4c > “…Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

← Sermon > A = False, the love of Jesus is not advocating for us here on earth, but in glory. We have the power of the Holy Spirit comforting us and advocating for us on earth. We have a Mediator in Jesus in glory and the Holy Spirit our Advocate on earth. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God as our high priest to obtain for us forgiveness, grace, and favor.

← 1John 2:2 > “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

← Sermon > B = False, the prime directive for believers is to love one another, but non-believers do not follow the directions or directives from God. Love is the prime motivator for avoiding sin.

← 1John 4:7-8 > “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that love is born of God, and know God. 8He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.”

← Sermon > D = false, all of the statement are NOT true. E = false, one of the statement IS true.

4) How may we recognize false prophets and evil spirits?

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← Sermon > False prophets and evil spirits may be recognized by their denial that Jesus is God, and that Jesus has come in the flesh (Incarnation). Moreover, foul spirits can be identified by their rejection of everything related to Jesus as Christ (Messiah).

← Sermon > The spirit of anti-Christ is the denial of Christ which wells up from a dying world and from its evil rulers. This denial of Christ is immediately recognized as a falsehood by those who truly know God. The spirit of anti-Christians is of the Devil who denies Jesus and who opposes the work accomplished in Jesus’ name.

← v1 > “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but try the spirits to see whether they are from God ...”

5) The Spirit of Truth sustains us with divine truth. [T] or [F]

← Sermon > truE = The Spirit of Truth, all godly spirits, will sustain us with divine truth. It is the Spirit of Truth, which sustains us, undergirds us, and empowers us. Believers who know God, listens to [hears] other believers who know God and support believers who support others believers who hears God and lives righteously.

← Sermon > This is how we recognize or test every spirit whether or not it is of the Spirit of Truth or it is the spirit of error. We hear and know the truth and the truth “makes us free.”

← v6 > “We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

BONUS) Can the spirit of antichrist destroy the fellowship of the church even though there are praying believers within that church.

← Sermon > Yes, the spirit of antichrist and anti-Christians can destroy the fellowship or “koinonia” of the church. Yes, many of churches have come to the negative effects of a “church-split” or a “church fight” because evil spirits and selfish motivates have disturbed the harmony and peace of the congregation.

← Sermon > However, the power of the Holy Spirit will always overcome the foul and evil spirits within the each community of faith. The forces of good or righteousness, lead by Jesus Christ, are destined to destroy the deeds of the devil. Greater are the forces of good that will keep the faith, protect the saints, and defend the church (Bride of Christ).

← Matthew 16:18 > “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

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